Part two of this series takes a look at
the 1985 Southern 500.
The 1980's saw an amazing growth in popularity and
overall value of
NASCAR. The thoughts came into being about ways to increase coverage
of the sport. Thus, a new program was introduced to the drivers for the 1985
season. It became known as The Winston Million. The basics of the program
was this: Any driver that could win three of the four "crown jewel" events on
the Winston Cup schedule (Daytona
500, Winston 500 at
Talladega, World/Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, and the Southern 500 at
Darlington) would earn a bonus award of one million dollars. Such a
task was seen as very difficult and not likely to happen.
Enter,
Bill Elliott.
Bill Elliott became the first driver eligible for The Winston Million
by winning the
Daytona 500 from the pole. At the next "crown jewel" race, Elliott
again won the pole. During the Winston 500 at
Talladega, he suffered engine problems that put him two laps down. He
made up the laps under green and won the race in one of the greatest
individual driving performances in NASCAR history. Bill again won the pole at
the World 600, but finished 18th, 21 laps down. That pushed his chance at
history back to the Southern 500 at Darlington, SC on September 1st.
The focus on the day was squarely on
Bill Elliott as he tried to make racing history. Like he had in the
other "crown jewel" races, he won the pole. Bill spent the day dodging
trouble, including avoiding
Dale Earnhardt when he wrecked and being right behind
Cale Yarborough when his power steering failed. Bill was able to avoid
all the trouble and took the win at the Southern 500, becoming the first to
win The Winston Million.
Bill Elliott became an instant star in
NASCAR. The entire NASCAR community celebrated his historic win.
Elliott became the first NASCAR driver to be on the cover of Sports
Illustrated.
In the aftermath, some wondered whether there
would be any difficulty to winning The Winston Million. After all, if Elliott
could do it in the first year, then it's going to be won several times. That
turned out not to be the case. After Elliott in '85 through 1996, no driver
won the big prize. The only other driver to win The Winston Million was
Jeff Gordon in 1997, which turned out to be the final year of the
program. The Winston Million was replaced by The Winston No Bull Five. In
that program, the drivers who finished in the top five of the prior No Bull
Five race would win one million dollars if they won that next eligible race.
That program lasted until 2002.
Bill Elliott has had a great career in NASCAR racing. He won 44
Winston Cup races, named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers, won the 1988
Winston Cup Championship, and the most popular driver award 16 times. But it
was him winning The Winston Million that made him one of the elite drivers in
the sport. His driving skills and down home attitude has made him a favorite
among many fans even today. Elliott retired from full time racing after 2003,
but drives on a part time basis. Many fans still refer to him as "Awesome
Bill From Dawsonville". But on that September afternoon at
Darlington, he earned another nickname that sticks with him still
today: "Million Dollar Bill".
Here is a video of the last 5 laps of the 1985 Southern 500 Courtesy of
youtube.com
1985
Southern 500
By: CrimsonCowboy